Chapter 25
We walked hand in hand from the press conference to my office, both of us shell-shocked but in the best possible way.
The hallway seemed to stretch endlessly, and I was acutely aware of every person we passed – their eyes widening, whispers following in our wake.
Cam's hand was warm and steady in mine, his thumb occasionally brushing over my knuckles in a silent reassurance.
Once inside my office, I closed the door and leaned against it, finally letting out the breath I felt like I'd been holding since Cam crashed the press conference. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving me slightly shaky but strangely calm.
"So," I said, meeting his gaze across the room. "That just happened."
Cam's smile was soft, a little uncertain. "Yeah. I kind of went off-script there."
"You think?" I laughed, the sound bordering on giddy. "Cam, you just declared your love for me on national television."
"Technically international," he corrected, taking a step toward me. "TSN in Canada definitely picked that up."
I groaned, but couldn't stop smiling. "The PR director in me is having a tiny meltdown right now. The rest of me..." I trailed off, not quite able to articulate the swirl of emotions – joy, relief, disbelief – coursing through me.
"The rest of you?" he prompted, taking another step closer.
"The rest of me has never been happier," I admitted softly.
His eyes darkened at my words. In three quick strides, he was standing in front of me, cradling my face in his hands. "Me neither," he whispered before his lips found mine.
The kiss was gentle at first, almost reverent, but quickly deepened as the reality of our situation – no more hiding, no more pretending – sank in. His hands slid into my hair, angling my head to deepen the kiss, and my arms encircled his neck, pulling him closer.
We broke apart at the sound of my phone buzzing – a constant, insistent vibration that signaled the media storm was already brewing. I glanced at the screen and laughed.
"What?" Cam asked, his arms still around my waist.
"Thirty-seven missed calls, sixty-four texts, and..." I checked my email notification. "One hundred and twenty-three new emails. All in the last twenty minutes." I set the phone face-down on my desk. "I think we might have caused a stir."
"Oh no! NOT A STIR," Cam laughed, looking utterly unrepentant.
Katie, my assistant, burst into my office without knocking, waving her tablet like a victory flag. "Have you seen Bluesky? Or Instagram? Or literally ANY social media?" Her eyes were wide, almost manic. "No more PR disaster – this is a PR MIRACLE!"
She thrust the tablet into my hands, and I scrolled through a seemingly endless stream of posts:
@PuckPrincess24: I KNEW IT. I KNEW CAM AND LANA WERE REAL. I'M CRYING. #HockeyEverAfter
@GoalieMom44: Can we talk about how respectfully Cam loves her? Men, take notes.
@HotForHatTricks: When he said 'That's not PR. That's me' I ASCENDED. #HockeyEverAfter
Someone had already created a fan cam zooming in on Cam's face during my line: "Cam Murphy is pretty hard to resist" – set to Taylor Swift's Love Story. It had over 150,000 likes in 15 minutes.
"The Slashers' social accounts have gained twenty thousand followers in the last hour," Katie continued, practically bouncing. "And Marcus wants me to tell you the merchandising team is already working on Valentine's Day special edition jerseys – his and hers."
"Tell them absolutely not," I said automatically, PR director instincts kicking in. "That's tacky and exploitative and – "
"I kind of like it," Cam interrupted, smirking as he peered over my shoulder at the tablet. "Just imagine: Murphy 22 and Murphy's 22."
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't stop my smile. "You're impossible."
"Impossibly in love with you," he countered, pressing a kiss to my temple.
Katie squealed. "Sorry! I'll go. Just... the press is requesting follow-up interviews, and People magazine wants an exclusive, and there's a hashtag trending – #HockeyEverAfter. I mean, how cute is that?"
"Katie," I interrupted firmly. "I need to catch my breath.
Yes on exclusives for People and Joey Keegan at ESPN for now, so you can go ahead and get those scheduled.
I also need to tweak my formal follow-up statement for this afternoon to include Cam crashing the presser. .. but I need a few minutes first."
"So romantic," she swooned. "Of course. Totally. Got it." She nodded, backing toward the door. With a final excited grin, she was gone.
Cam's arms encircled my waist from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder. "How are you really feeling?" he asked softly.
I leaned back against him, letting myself savor the solid warmth of him. "Overwhelmed. Happy. Terrified." I twisted in his arms to face him. "This is going to change everything, Cam. For both of us."
"Good," he said simply. "I'm ready for change."
A knock at the door interrupted us. Before I could answer, it swung open and Logan strode in, followed closely by Coco, both beaming.
"You two," Logan said, shaking his head with a grin. "Always have to steal the spotlight."
Coco pulled me into a tight hug. "I told you it was real," she whispered in my ear. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks," I murmured, squeezing her back. When we parted, she was practically glowing with happiness.
"My phone's blowing up with messages from my skating students," Coco told us. "They're all obsessed with you guys. Specifically, they want to know if Cam's as dreamy in person." She winked at Cam. "I told them he's okay."
"Just okay?" Cam clutched his chest in mock offense. "I'm wounded."
"Your ego will recover," Logan assured him, clapping him on the shoulder. "Nice press conference hijacking, by the way. Very dramatic."
"I learned from the best," Cam replied, nodding toward me.
My phone buzzed again with an incoming call from a number I didn't recognize. When it immediately rang again after sending it to voicemail, I sighed and answered.
"Lana Decker."
"Ms. Decker, this is Jess Riley from Sports Illustrated. I'd love to schedule – "
"Hi Jess. It's a little crazy around here today as you can probably imagine, but if you give Katie a call, she can put something on the books." She thanked me and I hung up, only for my phone to immediately ring again.
I immediately texted Katie: Yes on SI and shot Cam a look of exasperation. "I may need to turn this off for a while."
"Do it," he encouraged. "The world can wait."
My office door swung open again, this time revealing Pietro, Miller, and Nick, all grinning like idiots.
"You guys broke the internet," Pietro informed us, scrolling through his phone.
"And also my mom called to ask if I could get your autographs.
Both of you. She's making a scrapbook. And she wants a wedding invitation.
Please don't make me bring her as my plus-one. "
"Tell her we'd be honored," Cam laughed.
"Also, Coach Sully wants you to know that any reporter who tries to get into the locker room today will be escorted out personally. By him." Pietro grinned. "I think he's kinda enjoying playing bodyguard."
Miller nodded. "He's all grumpy-proud, like when we won the Cup but he didn't want to admit he was emotional."
Nick, our typically stoic goaltender, simply gave us a thumbs-up. "Took you long enough," he said before wandering back out.
After they left, I turned to Cam with a laugh. "I can't decide if we're going to get any work done today."
"Probably not," he admitted, reaching for my hand. The sapphire on my finger caught the light, reminding me of all the questions still hanging between us.
As if reading my mind, Cam said, "About Montreal… "
The door opened yet again, this time revealing my brother. Zayne stood there looking simultaneously uncomfortable and pleased, which for him was practically exuberant.
"Z," Cam said, straightening slightly. Despite everything that had happened, there was still that moment of uncertainty – the decade-long fear of disappointing his best friend.
Zayne crossed the room in three long strides and, to my utter shock, pulled Cam into a rough embrace. "Took you long enough," he said gruffly, echoing Nick's sentiment. When they parted, Zayne looked at me. "You okay, Lan?"
I nodded, my throat suddenly tight with emotion. "Yeah. I'm good."
"Good." He cleared his throat, clearly reaching his emotional expression limit.
Katie poked her head inside my office. “Um, your nine-o-clock is still here. I’m so sorry I forgot to cancel her meeting on Friday with everything going on.”
“Totally understandable. Sorry. Who am I meeting with again?”
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her and whispered, “The romance author? She’s doing research?”
“Right, right, right…” I said, shaking my head to focus. “Send her in.”
I looked at Zayne and Cam, “Stay a minute please guys, help me smooth this over.”
Cam and Zayne nodded in unison,
I stood to greet her as Katie led the woman into my office. She wore a hibiscus pink sundress, wedge espadrilles, and her chestnut hair pulled up in a messy top knot.
She startled when she saw both Zayne and Cam standing in my office.
“I apologize for all the nuttiness this morning. We had a bit of a situation,” I laughed.
“Shelby,” she said, extending her hand. I shook it as she gushed, “Oh my GOD. Like, no worries at all. I watched the whole thing while I was waiting. I swear, it was the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Really…incredible.”
Her eyes were wide, like she’d just finished riding a roller coaster.
“Shelby, it’s fantastic to meet you. I apologize that I’m not a bit more prepared for this meeting. This is Cam, and this is Zayne, two of our star players.”
“I’m a fan,” she gushed, shaking both their hands enthusiastically. Cam grinned, thanking her, and Zayne politely nodded.“
Thanks so much,” Zayne said, “It’s always so great to meet the fans. Do you live in the area? Or are you visiting?”